The Bookseller.com

7th September 2008

Penguin picks up Joel Rickett

23.06.08 Alison Flood

The Bookseller's deputy editor Joel Rickett has been appointed to the newly created position of editorial director of Viking. Rickett, who takes up the position at the end of August, reporting to publishing director Venetia Butterfield, will be looking for "high-quality fiction and non-fiction with real edge and the ability to appeal to a wide readership".

Viking said that his appointment signalled its ambition to expand the range of its list, and to "seek out the very best authors writing in categories with a broad appeal across the whole retail market".

Butterfield added: "At Penguin we’ve long admired Joel’s passion and commitment to books and his understanding of the complexities and challenges of our market. We are thrilled that we’ve tempted him to focus his many talents and energies on publishing for us."

Rickett joins the existing commissioning team at Viking, led by Butterfield and including Tony Lacey, Eleo Gordon, Mary Mount and Kate Barker.

Rickett, who has been at The Bookseller for almost ten years, said he had always been "hugely impressed" by Penguin's creativity, literary sensibility and commercial nous. He added: "This is a dream come true. It's a unique chance to publish the kind of books I love: high-quality fiction and non-fiction with real edge and the ability to appeal to a wide readership. After nearly a decade of observing publishing, I'm ready to make this leap and discover and nurture a new generation of Viking bestsellers."

He said he would be looking for writers "who can match narrative drive with emotional punch, who can tell big stories with a light touch. I will help them make a major impact in literary, media and retail terms."

The Bookseller editor-in-chief Neill Denny said that Rickett had contributed "an enormous amount" to the magazine.

"He has been a superb news journalist and news editor, consistently breaking exclusive stories," Denny said. "As deputy editor he took responsibility right across the magazine, and his judgement, intelligence and good humour made him a key part of the editorial team. He developed a great range of contacts at all levels of the industry, and has represented the magazine - and the book trade generally - with great fluency and authority in the wider media, particularly with his longstanding Guardian column. His great knowledge and love of books has always allowed him to talk the language of publishers with confidence. I wish him the very best in his new role, for which he is admirably suited, and I thank him for his all hard and effective work here."

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